Caesar Munroe

5. Decide How Much You Want to Pay

Of course, you will need to consider the price whenever you are in the market for a new
battery setup.

There are several types of batteries, including FLA, GEL, AGM and LiFePO4, so it pays to
figure out your budget in advance, while also having an idea of how much one of these new
batteries will cost you. While lithium batteries have a higher upfront cost, the true cost of
ownership is far less than lead-acid when considering life span and performance. Changing
batteries less often means fewer replacement and labor costs. These savings make lithium
batteries a more valuable long-term investment than lead-acid batteries.

If you are going to have a repair shop handle the installation, be sure to get cost estimates of
both the battery itself and the labor for the installation.

6. Consider Waterproofing and Other Protective Features

Finally, make sure that you get a listing of all the features that come with the battery.

A number of overland battery setups come with waterproofing, which will protect it from rain
and changes in moisture. You'll want to buy a battery that has thickly insulated, anti-
corrosive cables as well. This will allow you to keep the battery intact and flowing with the
current.

See what connectors it comes with and see if you can trade-in your old battery before buying
a new one.

Buy the Perfect Battery for Your Overland Vehicle

When you consider a battery setup for overland vehicles, these are the tips you need to be
aware of.

We've got you covered when you are in the market for any kind of battery setup that you
need.

Consider these tips and buy a deep cycle lithium battery that is perfect for your overland
adventures.

Mechanical pencil mechanisms use only a single lead diameter. Some pencils, such as the
Pentel Function 357, place several mechanisms within the same housing, so as to offer a
range of thicknesses (in this case three: 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 mm). 1.00 mm leads also exist, but
they are very rare. (See table below.).

Different sizes of lead diameters are available to accommodate various preferences and pencil
builds, as shown in the table below. The more common lead sizes are 0.5 mm and 0.7 mm,
whose line widths provide a favourable balance between precision and strength. Less
common lead sizes can range from 0.2 mm up to 5.6 mm. Pentel has also previously
demonstrated a prototype 0.1 mm pencil.[10] Pencils with sub-millimeter leads can usually
hold multiple leads at the same time, reducing the frequency of refills. One exception was the
Pentel 350 E, possibly Pentel's first mechanical pencil,[11] which could only hold a single
stick of 0.5 mm lead. Refill leads can be bought in small tubes and inserted into the barrel as
needed.

n spite of the name, pencil leads do not contain the toxic chemical element lead, but are typically
made with graphite and clay, or plastic polymers. Compared to standard pencils, mechanical pencils
have a smaller range of marking types, though numerous variations exist. Most mechanical pencils
can be refilled, but some inexpensive models are meant to be disposable and are discarded when
empty.

Conrad Gesner described a leadholder pencil in 1565, but the lead had to be manually
adjusted to sharpen it.[1] The earliest extant example of a mechanical pencil was found aboard
the wreckage of HMS Pandora, which sank in 1791.[2]

The first patent for a refillable pencil with lead-propelling mechanism was issued to Sampson
Mordan and John Isaac Hawkins in Britain in 1822. After buying out Hawkins' patent rights,
Mordan entered into a business partnership with Gabriel Riddle from 1823 to 1837. The
earliest Mordan pencils are thus hallmarked SMGR.[3][4] After 1837, Mordan ended his
partnership with Riddle and continued to manufacture pencils as "S. Mordan & Co". His
company continued to manufacture pencils and a wide range of silver objects until World
War II, when the factory was bombed.

Between 1822 and 1874, more than 160 patents were registered pertaining to a variety of
improvements to mechanical pencils. The first spring-loaded mechanical pencil was patented
in 1877 and a twist-feed mechanism was developed in 1895. The 0.9 mm lead was introduced
in 1938, and later it was followed by 0.3, 0.5 and 0.7 sizes. Eventually, 1.3 and 1.4 mm
mechanisms were available, and 0.4 and 0.2 versions are now produced.

The mechanical pencil became successful in Japan with some improvements in 1915 by
Tokuji Hayakawa, a metal worker who had just finished his apprenticeship. It was introduced
as the "Ever-Ready Sharp Pencil". Success was not immediate, since the metal shaft—
essential for the pencil's long life—was unfamiliar to users. The Ever-Ready Sharp began
selling in huge numbers after a company from Tokyo and Osaka made large orders.[5][6] Later,
Tokuji Hayakawa's company got its name from that pencil: Sharp.[5]

At nearly the same time in the US, Charles R. Keeran was developing a similar pencil that
would be the precursor of most of today's pencils. Keeran's design was ratchet-based,
whereas Hayakawa's was screw-based. These two development histories – Hayakawa and
Keeran – are often mistakenly combined into one.[7] Keeran patented his lead pencil in
1915[8] and soon afterwards arranged production.[7] After some improvements, his design was
marketed as the "Eversharp" pencil by the Wahl Adding Machine Company; by the early
1920s, Wahl had sold more than 12,000,000 Eversharps.[7]

Some of the manufacturers are: Pentel, Pilot, Tombow, Uni-ball and Zebra of Japan; Faber-
Castell, Lamy, Rotring and Staedtler of Germany; Bic of France; PaperMate of USA; Caran
d'Ache of Switzerland; Parker of UK and numerous Chinese, other Asian and European
manufacturers.